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Join award-winning author Phil Cousineau for a sacred journey around the globe.

First published in 1998 and updated with a new preface by the author, The Art of Pilgrimage is a sacred travel guide in book form that is full of inspiration for the spiritual traveler.

Award-winning writer and filmmaker and host of the acclaimed Global Spirits series seen on PBS and Link TV, Phil Cousineau weaves stories, myths, parables, and quotes from famous travelers with practical suggestions and accounts of modern-day pilgrims to show that there is something sacred waiting to be discovered in virtually every journey. Connecting these voices is a series of meditations that suggest different ways to practice what pilgrims and poets have done for centuries, to see with the "eyes of the heart." With over 70 illustrations, this book is for the traveler who longs for something more than diversion and escape.

The Art of Pilgrimage shows that every journey can be sacred, soulful, and transformative if it is undertaken with a desire for spiritual risk and renewal. Whether traveling to Mecca or Memphis, Stonehenge or Cooperstown, one's journey becomes meaningful when the traveler's heart and imagination are open to experiencing the sacred.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Centuries of travel lore suggest that when we no longer know where to turn our real journey has begun," writes author Phil Cousineau. "At that crossroads moment, a voice calls to our pilgrim soul." Many have embarked upon a pilgrimage, but few have understood its mysteries and possibilities as well as Phil Cousineau does (author of Soul Moments and The Hero's Journey). On one level this is a highly useful guidebook packed with great ideas for enlightened traveling--tape recording local voices, music, and sounds; asking contemplative questions to waitresses and bookstore owners; lighting a traveling candle every morning; making an offering to the local deity. But most compelling is Cousineau's ability to expertly map the interior landscape of a pilgrimage--the sights that lead to insights and the borders that lead to breakthroughs as we trek the exterior landscape of our planet. --Gail Hudson--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Thinking of those who intend to embark on a journey with a deep purpose, Cousineau (ed., Soul Moments, Conari, 1997) explores why travelers plan trips and then, upon getting to their destination, have a sense of unfulfilled expectation. Cousineau suggests that this disappointment results from the way travelers engage with the place, not the site itself. Stories, anecdotes, quotes, vignettes, and practical suggestions from travelers and pilgrims throughout history create a guide to building a personal journey by learning to slow down and linger, savor, and absorb each stage?from the first strands of desire to travel through the journey to the return. To help the reader get involved, Cousineau includes a series of meditations and imagination exercises. Librarians aiming to reach both active and armchair travelers will find that this title circulates well.?Leroy Hommerding, Citrus Cty. Lib. System, Inverness, FLCopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

More About the Author

PHIL COUSINEAU is an award-winning writer and filmmaker, teacher and editor, lecturer, storyteller and TV host. His fascination with the art, literature, and history of culture has taken him from Michigan to Marrakesh, Iceland to the Amazon, in a worldwide search for what the ancients called the "soul of the world." With more than 25 books and 15 scriptwriting credits to his name, the "omnipresent influence of myth in modern life" is a thread that runs through all of his work.

BOOKS: Cousineau's books include STOKING THE CREATIVE FIRES, ONCE AND FUTURE MYTHS, THE ART OF PILGRIMAGE, THE HERO'S JOURNEY: JOSEPH CAMPBELL ON HIS LIFE AND WORK, SOUL: AN ARCHAEOLOGY, and WORDCATCHER: AN ODYSSEY INTO THE WORLD OF WEIRD AND WONDERFUL WORDS. A book of essays and reflections on healing, restitution and atonement titled BEYOND FORGIVENESS published in 2011; a book of colorful words and word stories, THE PAINTED WORD: A TREASURE CHEST OF REMARKABLE WORDS AND THEIR ORIGINS, published in 2012; and BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: ILLUMINATING WORDS FOR THE LONG NIGHT'S JOURNEY INTO DAY released in December 2013. Cousineau's books have been translated into nine languages, and he is a contributor to more than 30 other books.

TALKS & TRAVELS: Phil Cousineau lectures frequently on a wide spectrum of topics that reflect his mythic and scholarly journeys, including mythology, movies, writing, mentorship, beauty, language, travel, sports, and creativity. He has been the keynote speaker at major conferences as diverse as the Ansel Adams Centennial Celebration in Yosemite National Park and the Global View Symposium at Michigan State University. He has been invited to lecture at distinguished venues around the world and has collaborated and appeared with some of the great thinkers and philosophers of our time, including with mentors Joseph Campbell and Huston Smith. Cousineau enjoys collaborating with musicians and artists. An expert in pilgrimage and meaningful travel, Cousineau occasionally leads small group journeys to sacred and culturally rich places; in the Fall of 2014 he will take groups to Greece and Turkey.

FILMS: Phil Cousineau's screenwriting credits in documentary films have won more than 25 international awards and include: A SEAT AT THE TABLE, ECOLOGICAL DESIGN, WAYFINDERS, THE PEYOTE ROAD, WIPING THE TEARS OF SEVEN GENERATIONS, THE HERO'S JOURNEY; and the Academy Award-nominated FOREVER ACTIVISTS.

TV & APPEARANCES: He is currently the co-writer and host of GLOBAL SPIRIT, Link TV's "internal travel" television series broadcasting now on World and Local PBS stations. Cousineau has also appeared on CNN, The Discovery Channel, Fox News, and NFL Films, and been featured on Voice of America, PRI's The World, CBC's Tapestry, Deepak Chopra's Wellness Radio, and NPR's Weekend Edition. He has been interviewed for stories in TIME and NEWSWEEK as well as the NEW YORK TIMES. He has been a judge for the Emmys, the San Francisco Film Festival, and the PEN-WEST literary awards. Look for his expert commentary and mythic take on film among the special features on several Warner Brothers DVDs--from THE NATURAL and CONSTANTINE to BATMAN and SUPERMAN.

CONSULTING: An expert on mythology and film and the "hero journey" structure of screenplays, Cousineau consults on all types of writing projects.

Cousineau lives with his family in North Beach in San Francisco, California. He has just finished writing an ambitious book on beauty. Learn more about his work at http://www.philcousineau.net.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

This is one of those books that has the power to change your life. It is a guide to feeding your soul. The author gives us the motivations for taking a pilgrimage-the traveler as student, travel simply for travel's sake, to discover the answers you are seeking, to quench a longing for the unknown, the enticement of traveling to a destination leaving behind your name & past, and many more. The idea that travel can restore a sense of passion and wonder is something of great interest to me. I am stuck in the daily grind of seeing the same scenery and people and doing the same work everyday. My spirit hungers for meaning, beauty, and adventure. This book is the ultimate guide for unconventional travel even if your traveling somewhere conventional. It shows us how to observe and listen in a way that opens up a whole new world to explore. I have enjoyed reading this book and consider author Phil Cousineau a kindred spirit.

Cousineau's book is a worldly companion with a good word whenever I open it. Though composed in comprehensive chapters for the stages of travel, the book is more simply a collection of anecdotes, quotations, insights, and guideposts--many of them as short as a single line. I progessed through its pages at a snail's pace because something on each caught my interest. I drifted into thought instead of reading on. It's a lovely book, perfect for a moment of contemplation and grounding at the start of any day and any journey, or to help put remembered moments into new light.

The Art of Pilgrimage isn't just for the "spiritual traveler." It's for anyone who wants to do more than visit a shopping mall. Even business travelers can use this book--they'll be inspired to make even short jaunts meaningful by taking a half day off to visit someplace special, and experiencing it with attention and purpose. Cousineau stresses that every trip--whether to The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, your ancestral village in Ireland, or the magnificent temples in Ankor Wat in Cambodia--can be sacred and soulful if the traveler's heart and imagination are open to experiencing it. With chapters that cover the cycle of the journey, "the longing," "the call," "departure," the pilgrim's way," "the labyrinth," "arrival," and significantly "bringing back the boon," Cousineau's book is the ultimate pep talk for getting ready for, and experiencing what will surely become an unforgettable soulful adventure. With wonderful photographs and illustrations, this makes a great gift for anyone who loves travel. Anyone going anywhere should buy this book first!

Have you ever felt a need to reach a certain physical destination or bring some effort to fruition before you die? Why is the human reverence for places such as Notre Dame, Jerusalem, or Mecca so strong? In times past, people made pilgrimages to holy shrines and sacred spots to atone for sins, seek a cure, keep promises, or recover holy ground from barbarians. Today, many people travel to escape reality, or to break a routine.In "The Art of Pilgrimage" Phil Cousineau says travel can take on a larger role. He proposes a "seeker's guide to making travel sacred." The book explores the steps of the sacred pilgrimage: "The Longing", "The Call", "Departure", "The Pilgrim's Way", The Labyrinth" and "The Arrival."Cousineau has set down in print an idea that has been floating around my head for some time. I don't seek out the traditional holy places, but I have wandered from one artist's home to another--Nohant or Bath or Rye or Waldon or Bloomsbury or Salisbury. In doing so, I have felt connected to the spirit of the artist who once lived and worked in that space. Perhaps they are my lost saints.

Chances are, if you're looking at this book, you're already planning a trip, and are of a mind to make your travel special. If you are not already of a mind to travel, you will be after reading even a little of "Art of Pilgrimage". Read it on the plane, on the bus, at rest stops...but if you read it sitting at home, expect to travel soon...To put it simply, Cousineau loves to travel, and has written a book that will speak to the traveler in all of us. We are descended from nomads; the instinct is in all of us, but we get bogged down in Mundania. Cousineau mixes great quotes along with observations from his own quests and adventures. The results will most certainly help you to make your own journey a transformative event.

When just being a tourist is no longer satisfying and you hunger for more magic moments on the road, please read The Art of Pilgrimage. An initiation in and of itself to prepare and inspire the seeker in us all. I've received valuable insights on the practical steps of pilgrimage while joyously making a spiritual connection to pilgrims down through the ages. Most importantly I've been reminded that a Pilgrimage can happen anytime, anyplace and can become part of restoring the sacred to our daily lives.

Phil Cousineau has written a very special book that transforms what might be otherwise an ordinary trip into a soulful and profound journey. There are many fantastic personal and anecdotal examples for the traveller contained in the book. Cousineau is as good at this as Bruce Chatwin in his own way. This is a memorable book and you won't want to put it down. It is a great gift to anyone going on a special trip and it need not be a pilgrimage before the trip, but it very well could turn into one once you have read this wonderful book.